The Long Voyage from Friend to Family
by Voyager Tip
Summary: Over the course of several voyages, Jeff and Phineas come to realize how much they mean to each other. Rated T for violence in one of the chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**The Long Voyage From Friend To Family**

They landed in a hallway, alone at sunset. "You okay?" Phineas Bogg asked his young partner.

"Yeah, what's another bruise or two, nothing's broken," Jeffrey answered as he got to his feet. Traveling through the cosmos during the past year had toughened him up. Though they'd had many hard landings, he had never been actually hurt, though Bogg often asked him if he was okay. "Where are we Bogg?" he asked pulling down his red and white striped shirt.

Phineas unhooked the Omni from his belt and opened it. "England, July 31st, 1928, red light. Ring any bells?"

"Nope," Jeff answered looking around, "hey, I know that name," he continued.

Phineas looked at the name on the door Jeff was pointing to, it read, "Dr. Alexander Fleming".

"Okay, so who is he?"

Jeff shook his head, concentrating hard, "it's real familiar, but I can't remember."

Phineas motioned to his partner to follow as he opened the door to the office, however he quickly realized it was a laboratory instead. It was also very cluttered. "A bit messy for a doctor, don't you think?"

"He must be a scientist," Jeff said walking around the room and studying the test tubes, petrie dishes and culture plates.

"A bit messy for a scientist, don't you think?" Phineas repeated. Jeff looked at him and rolled his eyes.

Suddenly a man entered from an office across the room. Like naughty children, the boys froze, hoping they didn't get into trouble.

"Who are you?" the man asked, then, "what are you doing in my lab?"

"Uh," Phineas stuttered, but Jeff took up the conversation.

"We heard about your work, Dr. Fleming, and I asked my friend to bring me to see your lab," then he pointed to Phineas, "this is my friend, Phineas Bogg, I'm Jeffrey." Jeff said all this very fast and paused to catch his breath, hoping the doctor would say something about his work that would jog his memory.

Bogg raised his hand and smiled, "hi," he felt stupid, as he often did on assignments until they got their bearings.

"Did you have a question, young man?" Dr. Fleming asked.

Jeff stalled for time, "can you explain what you're doing?" he asked.

"Well, I'm working on several things at the moment, and I'm on my way out for a month long vacation, so I don't really have time to go into it."

Jeff's eyes scanned the area and his gaze fell on a stack of plates on the edge of a countertop. They were labeled "Staphylococci".

"Staphylococci," he whispered to himself. Then louder, he asked, "are you studying germs, I mean how to kill them?" then more excitedly, "I mean how to treat infections?" His tone told Phineas what he wanted to know, that Jeffrey had figured out what they had to do.

"Why yes," Fleming answered in surprise. "I can't believe someone so young would know anything about infections."

"Jeffrey's pretty special," Phineas joined in, not wanting to be left out of the conversation.

"Unfortunately, I haven't had much luck. I'm hoping that this vacation will clear my head and I can get a fresh start come September." He turned back to his office and Jeff and Phineas moved closer together.

"Bogg, he's gonna discover Penicillin!" Jeff told his friend excitedly.

"What are we here to do?" Bogg asked, trying to get back on task.

"How he discovered it was an accident. He left some plates of staph germs open and some mold got on one and stopped the staph from growing. That mold produced penicillin. It killed the germs on his plate, that's how he knew it would work."

They looked around and Jeff saw what he was looking for. He took the top plate off the stack and removed the cover. "Light still red?" he asked.

Bogg opened the omni, "yeah, are you sure about this? All you're doing is taking the cover off that.." the omni turned green as he spoke and he stopped in mid-sentence.

Jeff smiled as he removed a cover from a second plate and heard Bogg stop talking suddenly. "How's the light now?" he asked innocently.

Phineas stared at him in disbelief and shook his head, "green light," he whispered, turning the device toward Jeff so he could see. He again felt humbled by his partner's quick mind and great memory. Jeffrey was brilliant, a real asset and a true partner on these voyages and he felt very lucky to have him.

He must have looked embarrassed, or hurt, because Jeff's next words could've been gloating, but were kind instead. "It was just luck that I knew it. You know, I'm beginning to think the omni puts us in places I know about. Is that possible?"

"I don't know kid, there are times I've thought the omni sent me to a green zone especially when I needed a rest. I suppose there could be something to that theory."

They walked out of the room and waited behind some boxes to watch Dr. Fleming leave. Jeff wanted to be sure he didn't straighten up the lab again. After he left, they checked that the omni was still green, then Jeff took hold of Phineas' arm and they disappeared.

They landed in a soft haystack, in Massachusetts, in a green zone.

"Hey, this is great," Jeff said as he lay back and relaxed.

Phineas hesitated, then took a deep breath, "it's funny how we were just saying about how the omni might send us where we need to be," he paused and looked at Jeff.

"What?" Jeff asked, noticing that his partner was eyeing him.

"Well, there's something that I wanted to say and maybe now is a good time," Phineas said seriously.

"I hate it when you're serious, Bogg," Jeff responded, "so just say it." He felt strange and wondered what Bogg could want to discuss.

Bogg cleared his throat, "well, it's about your parents."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jeff tensed up, he didn't ever remember Bogg bringing up his folks before. Jeff was always the one to mention them. "What about them?" Jeff asked.

"Well, it occurred to me, that if you were living in your original time line, you would automatically know that you could go to the cemetery any time to visit, if you wanted to that is, some people do. But, since you're zooming around the cosmos with me, you can't really do that." He paused to see how Jeff was taking this, and was glad he seemed to be okay. "Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I got special permission to omni you to the cemetery any time you want, if you want to go that is." He paused again, "I'm not saying you should, just that you can. All you have to do is tell me, okay?" He watched Jeff carefully and waited for his response.

Jeff sat quietly, thinking about what Bogg had said. It was true, he had thought about what it would be like to visit his parent's graves. How had Bogg known? But he couldn't really say that he wanted to go. All of a sudden he wanted to be alone. "I think I'll take a walk," he said and got up and headed for a path nearby that led into a wooded area.

Bogg sighed. He'd been nervous about saying this to Jeffrey, but in all fairness to him, he felt that he should be able to visit his parent's graves if he wanted. It had been a tricky request to make at headquarters, but with Susan's help, he had argued Jeff's case the best he could. They would be allowed to go as often as Jeff wanted, only for one day at a time.

Not for the first time, it occurred to him that he felt very protective of Jeffrey. Obviously he would do anything to save him if he was in physical danger, as he would for anyone, but his feelings for Jeffrey went deeper than that. When had he ever been so concerned about another person's emotional wellbeing? He couldn't remember a time. He kept his eyes on the path through the trees where Jeff had disappeared. What a person! Jeffrey was brilliant, and came from very intelligent, possibly brilliant parents. It still astonished Phineas that somehow he was chosen to fall into Jeff's room that night when it seemed he was so different from Jeff and his parents. Yet, in spite of their differences, they developed a close, caring relationship. He shook his head, too much emotion in too short a time. He needed to let his feelings settle down. He needed to be ready to support Jeff if he came back upset.

* * *

Jeff walked through the cool woods thinking. He was a bit surprised that he didn't feel like crying. He just felt worn out. He had cried so much about his parents in the past, that now his tears just seemed to solidify into a dull ache in his chest. Time had passed, and things were just different somehow. He was 12 now, and it had been almost 2 years since the accident. He sighed and willed himself to stop thinking about it. He sat down on a flat rock and stared off into space. He should probably get back before Bogg got worried and started looking for him. He filed away the idea of a visit to the cemetery, mentally making a place for it in his mind. It was nice to know he had the option of going, if he wanted to. His throat hurt when he swallowed, he was determined not to cry when he talked to Bogg.

* * *

Phineas looked up as he heard the dry leaves breaking under Jeff's feet. Jeff came over and sat beside him.

"I don't feel like going just now," Jeff said, looking at the ground.

"Okay," Bogg answered, then continued, "why don't we see what else is here?"

Jeff nodded and they both stood up and walked down the lane. They passed a sign that read Woburn city limits. "It's not very built up, what's the year?" Jeff asked, reaching up to rub his throat and swallow. His throat hurt just a bit, just his luck to be catching a cold.

Bogg took out the omni again and opened it, "June 20, 1839, and now it's red."

"Great," Jeff replied as they walked on.

As they walked they passed some houses and finally came to a main thoroughfare. Phineas paused, "you got any idea where we're supposed to go?" he asked.

Jeff glanced across the street at a small manufacturing plant. The name on the sign read "Woburn Rubber Company".

"Well, rubber was invented in Massachusetts about this time, maybe we're supposed to be there?" and he pointed to the plant.

Phineas looked at it, "don't they already make it? I mean, it is a rubber company, after all."

Jeff shrugged and swallowed painfully, "I think there were a lot of problems with rubber in the beginning," he answered. His throat was more uncomfortable and he didn't feel like talking, so he just started walking toward the plant, knowing Bogg would follow. Jeff walked right up to the door and opened it. They were immediately approached by one of the workers.

"Is there somebody here named Goodyear?" he asked.

"Charlie? Sure, he's through there," and he pointed to a doorway.

"Who's that?" Phineas asked as they went through the door.

"Charles Goodyear, Bogg, he was famous. He's the reason I learned the word serendipity," Jeff answered.

"What?" Phineas asked in confusion.

"Mr. Goodyear?" Jeff asked holding out his hand, "I'm Jeffrey Jones, this is my friend Phineas Bogg."

Goodyear shook hands with them, "what can I do for you?"

Jeff looked around uncertainly.

"Well?" Phineas whispered, but Jeff kept scanning the room.

"Don't you have an assistant?" he asked Goodyear.

"Not today, he didn't come in, why?"

"You look like you could really use one, I could help you, what are you trying to do?" Jeff asked.

"Right now I'm heating this rubber with sulpher," he pointed to a pot on the stove. "Since you're so willing to work, just keep an eye on it so it doesn't boil over, while I get something from out back."

Jeff nodded and Goodyear left.

"This is great Bogg," Jeff exclaimed.

"Okay, fill me in kid, what are you doing, and you better move that pot or it WILL boil over."

"I know," Jeff said not moving to control the heat under the pot.

Bogg went to reach for the handle of the pot as steam moved the cover and it threatened to boil over, but Jeff grabbed his arm, "don't Bogg, it has to boil over," he insisted.

"Why?"

"Serendipity! It means there was an accident but it was a good accident," Jeff told him as the pot boiled over and the mixture inside spilled out onto the stovetop. "That," Jeff pointed to the mess, "is how Goodyear figured out how to make rubber hard. Up until now, rubber was really gooey in the summer and got stiff and brittle in the winter. It was a serendipitous accident! That's what happened with Alexander Fleming too. It was serendipity that mold landed on his plate."

"But he also had to know enough to recognize why it was important," Bogg added.

Jeff stared at him open mouthed. "Yeah, that's right," he said amazed. "I learned an important saying about that, too. Something about..."

"Chance favors the prepared mind," Bogg interrupted him.

"Yeah, that's right. How'd you know that?" Jeff asked, again surprised.

"Don't sound so surprised kid. I do know some things you know," Bogg answered.

"Who said that?" Jeff asked.

"Louis Pasteur," Bogg answered immediately. "I always liked that concept. Kinda gives you the impression you have some control over your life, instead of things just happening to you, ya know?"

"Yeah," Jeff whispered, clearly impressed. Once in a while, Bogg's knowledge did surprise him.

"Oh no, what did you do!" Goodyear ran in yelling at them and attempted to pull the pot off the stove.

Bogg opened the omni, "green light," he said backing up and pulling Jeff with him, "time to go." He hit the omni and they disappeared.

The Paris street was hot and they landed hard.

"Jeff?" Phineas asked immediately.

"I'm okay," Jeff said in a dull tone as he sat up.

Phineas glanced at him as he opened the omni, something about the kid didn't seem right. He was probably thinking about going to the cemetery. He wondered if he made the right decision in bringing it up. Well, it was done now. Maybe Jeff just needed a little distraction. He glanced at the omni and smiled, "June 1950, Paris, France, green light. Today must be our lucky day, two green lights. Come on kid, I know a great place to get a bite to eat," he put his arm on Jeff's shoulder and guided him through the crowd to a little cafe with outdoor table.

An hour later they were having lunch. Bogg's eyes were on the many girls who walked past them as he ate. "I sure do like it when we end up in Paris in the summer," he sighed, "and in a green zone too." He glanced at his partner when Jeff didn't answer, then took a longer look.

Jeff was leaning on his elbow, his food half-eaten and a strange expression on his face.

"Hey kid? Something wrong?" Bogg asked.

"Why do you have to call me kid all the time. I've got a name you know," Jeff answered irritably.

Bogg paused, he was used to the smart mouth, but this seemed different. Jeff's eyes weren't as bright as usual. Something was definitely wrong.

"Okay Jeff," Bogg continued, "what's wrong?"

"I'm tired, I don't wanna watch you watch girls all day, I wanna get some sleep," Jeff complained.

"Kinda early in the day, don't you think?"

"Can't we just get a room? Then you can come back out here."

Bogg studied him, "yeah, okay," he said and got up.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

An hour later they entered a hotel room and Jeff went directly to the bed and lay down. Bogg stood in the doorway and watched him with concern. He walked in and shut the door, then walked over toward the bed and looked down at him. He was lying on his side, curled up. This was definitely not right. Before he could speak he saw Jeff wrap his arms around himself and tremble.

Bogg reached out and gently touched Jeff's forehead, he felt very warm. "You're sick," he said. He turned and put some wood on the fire to heat up the room, then turned back to Jeff and sat beside him. "Where does it hurt?" he asked and put his arm gently on Jeff's shoulder.

Jeff felt the loving touch as Bogg waited for his answer. Suddenly, he couldn't stand it any more, his voice shook as he answered, "my throat at first, then everywhere, and I'm freezing cold."

Bogg turned and took a quilt off the couch and spread it over Jeffrey. "Just lay here, I'm gonna get you something to drink," Bogg whispered. Jeff obeyed as Bogg left to pour a cup of water from the pitcher on the table. He felt so much better lying down. He closed his eyes as he felt Bogg tucking a quilt around him.

After a moment he heard Bogg's voice again. "can you sit up and drink this?"

Jeff forced his eyes open and struggled to sit up. He felt so thirsty, but swallowing was painful.

"It hurts a lot to swallow, huh?"

Jeff nodded.

"Okay," Bogg said as he took the empty cup and put it on the table. "Get some sleep now, if you're not better in the morning, we'll go ahead to 1970 and find a doctor."

"Will you stay with me?" Jeff asked, and Phineas could hear the word 'please' in his tone even though it wasn't spoken.

"Of course I'm gonna stay with you, where else would I be?" Bogg answered without pausing to think. As he sat beside Jeffrey, he realized he'd never felt this way before. The thought of leaving Jeff when he was sick was abhorrent. His feelings were so powerful, it felt hard to breathe at first. This was more than friendship, more than partnership too. This must be the way a parent would feel when their child was sick. He sat and pondered this new revelation. He'd never asked for or wanted a partner, especially a child. Jeffrey had been thrust upon him, yet the kid was really something special and Bogg had enjoyed his company and his help after he got used to it. When had it gotten this serious though? Bogg paused as he realized that all of a sudden, Jeff wasn't his smart mouthed partner any more, but a sick child, without parents to care for him.

"What can I do to help?" he asked Jeff, sitting on the side of the bed and pushing Jeff's hair off his forehead. He noticed his cheeks were flushed from the fever. To Bogg's surprise, Jeff sat up strait and climbed into his lap. He wrapped his arms around him and held him close.

"I miss my Mom and Dad" Jeff whispered, his voice shaking.

"I know," Bogg whispered back.

He sat holding Jeffrey. Finally he felt Jeff relax and sink into chest. He felt very warm. Bogg was sure he was uncomfortable, but didn't think the fever was too high. Maybe this would resolve without a trip to the doctor.

"Jeff?" Bogg asked after an hour, "can you try to drink a little more?" Bogg may not have known much about the practice of medicine, but he knew that fluids were important when someone had a fever. He had seen many people die of dehydration, most of them children. He always tried to learn from every situation, and he'd experienced many things, even tragedies.

Bogg reached for a cup on a nearby table and held it up to Jeff's lips. He swallowed with difficulty, but drank it all. After he finished, he began to move around on Bogg's lap, trying to get comfortable.

"How about you lie in bed for awhile, okay?" Bogg said as he gently put Jeff back in bed and covered him up. He continued to move restlessly. Bogg put his hand on Jeff's head once more, he felt a bit hotter than before. Bogg's heart pounded and his stomach felt like it was twisted into a tight knot. As he watched, Jeff seemed to get worse before his eyes. He was shaking and mumbled something that Bogg couldn't make out. Soon he became even more restless in the bed. Bogg unhooked the omni from his belt and set it with shaking hands.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

An hour later Phineas was sitting in a cubicle in the emergency room of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, on December 1st, 1970. Jeffrey was lying on a stretcher next to him, still restless. Bogg leaned forward again to wipe his face and neck with cool water. As he wiped his forehead with the cloth, he spoke to him, "Jeff, can you open your eyes?" he asked hopefully.

Jeff opened his eyes as the cloth touched his forehead. He stared at Bogg, but didn't speak.

"Can you hear me?" Bogg asked.

"Yeah" Jeff whispered. "We're not in Paris, are we?"

"We're back in your home town. The doctor's gonna give you some medicine soon, okay?" Bogg answered, wetting the cloth again and putting it back on Jeff's forehead.

"It's hot."

"You have a fever, does this help?" Bogg asked as he wiped Jeff's face and neck with the cloth.

"Yeah," Jeff whispered and closed his eyes. Bogg kept wetting the cloth and wiping him down. Glad for something to do.

Suddenly the nurse was beside him. I've got an injection, can you try to wake him up? He needs to be on his side," she told Bogg.

Jeff felt someone touch his face and shoulder gently, and Bogg's voice, "Jeff? Wake up Jeff".

He forced his eyes open again and the first thing he saw was Bogg. His head was pounding and his throat hurt worse than ever.

"Jeff," Bogg began, "you need a shot to fight off this infection okay? So you need to roll over."

Before Jeff could think, Bogg had rolled him over onto his side and was holding him there. He felt a sharp pain on his bottom. "All done" he heard a female voice say.

"Thanks," Bogg told her. He leaned down and whispered close to Jeff's ear. "You'll start feeling better soon."

Jeffrey closed his eyes.

* * *

Five hours later, Jeff woke up. He was lying in a bed and a warm blanket was pulled up to his chin. He still felt sick, but his throat felt much better. He looked around and saw Bogg sitting beside the bed looking at a magazine. He smiled as he realized how much better he felt. He thought about how Bogg had taken care of him and felt a surge of emotion. He was a pretty lucky kid.

"Bogg?" he said as he sat up, his voice didn't sound like his own.

"Hey kid," Bogg greeted him, "you look a little better, how do you feel?"

"Pretty good."

Bogg was pouring a cup of juice from a pitcher on the table, "you need to drink," he said and passed the cup to Jeffrey who took it and swallowed painfully.

"Still hurt to swallow?" Bogg asked.

"Uh huh," Jeff nodded, "but not as much."

Bogg smiled, Jeff looked so much better. He moved over to sit on the edge of the bed. "You need to rest while the medicine works," he said. "Look, I wanna show you what I discovered," and he got up and walked to a box mounted on the wall and pushed a button. A small TV clicked on and a game show appeared on the screen. "Isn't it amazing?"

Jeff smiled, "Bogg, that's a television."

"They said it was called a TV?" Bogg said confused and Jeff laughed. Bogg's heart soared. Who would've thought a year ago that a kid's laughter could make him feel like this.

"TV is short for television," Jeff explained smiling.

"Oh," Bogg smiled too, "isn't it great?"

"Yeah, it is. I haven't seen a TV show in over a year. What's on?"

Bogg shrugged, "How am I supposed to know?"

"You were just looking at the TV Guide," when Bogg looked confused he continued, "that magazine?" Jeff indicated what Bogg had been reading.

"Oh, so that's what it was. I thought it was kind of strange."

Jeff shook his head. "Give it up, Bogg," Jeff said, then slowly his expression changed and he stopped smiling. Bogg must have noticed it because he put his hands on Jeff's arms and pushed him back onto the pillow.

"What's wrong?" Bogg's voice was worried.

"I'm just tired, I guess" Jeff said and closed his eyes.

Bogg watched him drift off to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Jeff's eyes opened the next time to a darkened room. He saw Bogg's outline. He was slumped over in a chair beside the bed, within arms reach. Jeff smiled, realizing how good he felt and remembering how Bogg had taken care of him. He watched his partner shift position and thought the chair looked hard and not very comfortable.

He reached out and put his hand on Bogg's arm and squeezed. "Bogg?"

"Huh, Jeff?" his partner jerked awake immediately.

"Hi" Jeff said suddenly shy. He could vividly remember how Bogg had held him and wiped his face with the cool cloth and he felt embarrassed. Would Bogg think he'd acted like a baby? He didn't remember too much of what happened, but from what he did remember, Bogg had never left him, he'd been there for everything.

"You okay?" Bogg asked as he moved to sit on the edge of the bed and turn on a light.

"Yeah, I feel a lot better," Jeff said.

Bogg gently brushed his bangs off his forehead with his thumb and looked at Jeff carefully. "Yeah, you do look a lot better," then he smiled and bent down and gave Jeff a hug. Jeff's arms wrapped around Bogg as he realized that he had nothing to be embarrassed about. The love and concern in his touch and tone of voice were obvious. Jeff's eyes were full of tears as he let go and Bogg sat up. "Hey, you sure you're okay?" Bogg asked.

Jeff nodded, "yeah," but he couldn't really explain why he had tears in his eyes.

Bogg sat back and watched him, not sure what else to say. Suddenly there was a knock at the door and a hospital worker brought in two breakfast trays.

"Thank you," Bogg said and then turned to Jeff, "you need to eat."

"I'm starved," Jeff said sitting up straight. His throat didn't hurt at all.

A half-hour later they were finished eating and a nurse walked in.

"Well, I hate to kick you out, but this is an emergency room, not a hotel," she said smiling, and you don't

look too sick.

"I don't think I'm up for a voyage just yet," Jeff admitted to Bogg after she left.

"We aren't going anywhere. I found a place for us to stay right around the corner. You can get some

rest while you finish taking the medicine. Seven days more and then I bring you back to be sure you're okay."

"Where are we staying?" Jeff asked.

"It's called the YMCA," Phineas explained, reciting the letters slowly, "and it's almost free. I can do some chores for them and earn our keep. At least that's what they told me at the desk." He motioned to the door with his head.

* * *

So they walked two blocks to the local YMCA, Bogg keeping a close eye on Jeffrey, but he didn't have any trouble getting there. Once in their room though, Jeff did lie down on the bed right away, and Bogg covered him over and sat beside him.

"One bed?" Jeff said after a few minutes as he glanced around the small room. "We should toss for it."

"Forget it kid," Bogg said, "I'm the senior partner and I say you get the bed this time."

"I thought partners were supposed to be equals?" Jeff countered.

"At the moment, I guess I'm still in parent mode," Bogg said without thinking.

Jeff looked at him with wide eyes. It was strange to hear Bogg talking about being his parent. He suddenly missed his parents very much.

"You okay?" Bogg asked, seeing his expression change.

"I just miss my real parents," Jeff whispered.

Phineas heard this and felt his stomach tighten. Of course it had been stupid for him to think Jeff might feel the same way he did. He should've realized the kid would never want any other parents. It's just that he had felt Jeff's illness so intensely, and while he was so sick, he had truly felt like a worried parent. Even the hospital staff assumed that he was Jeffrey's father. He looked away so Jeff wouldn't see the hurt look he knew was on his face.

Jeff was watching his friend's face though and saw many emotions pass across his features before he turned away. He had hurt Bogg's feelings, and he felt terrible about it. Why did everything have to be so hard?

He'd never really thought about Bogg becoming his father. But he had to admit that he had done many things a father would do. But, no, he stopped himself. He had a father and if he acknowledged another, it would be like abandoning the Dad he loved so much. Bogg would just have to understand. He did love him, but he couldn't have another parent.

"I'm sorry Bogg," Jeff said softly, thinking about how lovingly Bogg had cared for him while he was sick.

Bogg turned back to him. "No sweat kid," he said with as light a tone as he could manage.

"Thanks for taking such good care of me," Jeff said.

"No problem," Bogg answered. "Well, if you're well enough to be alone for awhile, I guess I'll go see what chores they might have for me to do."

"I'm okay," Jeff answered and watched him leave sadly.

Jeff felt so strange. Bogg had acted like a parent, it was true. He must have felt like one too. Jeff closed his eyes and tried to put his confused feelings aside.

* * *

Phineas paused outside the door and wiped his eyes before he continued down the stairs. How could he have expected Jeff to consider him a parent. They had only known each other for a year. Hardly long enough to replace his real parents. And Bogg knew that Jeff still missed them very much. He would just have to be satisfied with being the best friend to Jeff that he could, and even though Jeff didn't acknowledge it, he'd be a parent to him when he needed it, too.

* * *

Their time at the YMCA was pleasant. The food was good and the environment safe and friendly. They stayed for a week. Once Jeff's medicine was finished, Bogg took him back to the Emergency Room Clinic and he was cleared to return to normal activities. Bogg knew he was fine, he'd been acting normally for days and Bogg had him helping with a variety of chores around the building. The strain over Bogg's use of the word "parent" had disappeared the following day and they enjoyed themselves over the past week, both working and relaxing. Jeff had noticed a chess board in the community living room and had convinced several of the workers to play with him. Then, he'd enjoyed teaching it to Phineas and beating him once a day. Bogg found it an interesting game, not unlike one he'd played in Malaysia. He was beginning to develop a sense of strategy and told Jeffrey that he'd beat him soon.

Finally it was time to leave, so Bogg got out the omni and hit it.

* * *

They landed in a grassy area near a pond. It was hot and humid. Bogg opened the omni, "Florida Everglades, June 2nd, 1960, red light," he told Jeff. "Ring any bells?"

"Nope" Jeff shook his head, "but it looks like we're not alone." He pointed to a girl who looked to be about two years old. She was standing beside a pond, several feet from where they had landed. "She's too young to swim," Jeff said and jogged toward her. "Come on back from the water," he said touching her shoulder and turning to look up to the top of a nearby hill when he heard a frantic voice, probably the girls mother.

"Get away from there!" shouted the voice, near hysteria.

Suddenly out of the corner of his eye, Jeff could see an alligator leave the pond and move faster than he believed possible right toward them.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Phineas dove at the alligator as Jeffrey backed away in shock. He turned and grabbed the little girl beside him and dragged her with him up an embankment toward the hysterical voice. When he reached the top he collapsed beside her and turned to watch the horrible scene below. Bogg and the alligator were rolling around in the mud on the bank of the pond. The huge reptile was twisting quickly back and forth and the force of its muscular tail flung Bogg's body from side to side. With one arm he clutched a front foot and with the other the lower jaw of the beast. His legs were wrapped around the alligator's midsection. Even if he'd had a weapon, he would've had no opportunity to use it. He couldn't free up one hand without risking death.

Jeff watched in shock as people gathered to watch, some of them screamed. It looked like they were evenly matched. Bogg could hold off the alligator and the alligator couldn't shake Bogg off.

"What can we do?" said several people in the group.

"Someone call the police."

"Get a gun."

"He's too close and moving around too much"

"He saved my daughter."

Jeff heard the terror in all the voices and realized no one there was going to help Bogg. As he watched the scene play out, he realized there was nothing he could do either. And though they seemed to be evenly matched, the alligator didn't seem to be getting tired, but Jeff didn't see how Bogg could keep this up much longer. Sure, he was strong, but the alligator was huge, and looked to be solid muscle. Jeff felt the terror of the others sink into his gut.

As Jeff watched, they rolled out into the deeper water of the pond, went under and broke the surface again. He saw a man run to the edge of the water with a rifle and take careful aim. He waited, poised and ready, for what seemed to Jeff an interminably long time and then finally fired. Bogg and the alligator disappeared under the water. Jeffrey jumped up and ran down to the gunman as the pond water turned dark red. Tears streamed down his face as he watched the surface of the water, looking for a sign that Bogg would come back to him.

Suddenly, the surface of the water broke and he saw Bogg's head appear. He watched him struggle to shore and ran to where he collapsed on the bank. He was coughing deeply and with each cough pond water came up out of his lungs. His breathing was loud and raspy, as though each breath was a great effort. Jeff sobbed as he put his hand on Bogg's shoulder. "Bogg?" he asked, but there was no answer as his friend continued to fight for breath.

The crowd gathered around them and Jeff heard a siren. Next he felt a pair of strong hands lift him up and away from Bogg.

"No, let me go," he yelled as he struggled to get free.

"Easy kid, we're not going anywhere, I just need some information," said the officer, and Jeff calmed down when he saw another officer cover Bogg with a blanket and kneel beside him.

"Okay, what do you want to know," he finally said, wiping his eyes.

"What's your name?" The next few minutes were spent in giving information to the officer. Jeff kept an eye on his partner and was glad to see he seemed to be breathing easier though he was still coughing. But he hadn't sat up yet. He watched as another officer threw a hook into the pond and dragged the dead alligator to the shore. He shuddered as he looked at it.

"That's a big one," he heard someone say.

Suddenly an ambulance was there and Jeff watched as Bogg was lifted onto the stretcher. He started toward him but a firm hand clamped onto his shoulder, holding him back.

"Let go, I have to go with him," Jeff yelled and twisted, trying to get away.

"You aren't going anywhere son," the officer said.

"What? I have to stay with Bogg!" Jeff yelled as the rear doors of the ambulance closed and he lost site of his friend. "Where are they taking him?" he cried as he continued to struggle.

"What've we got Arthur?" asked a tall officer as he joined them.

"Looks like a runaway. Probably from the County Home, didn't they report a kid missing this morning?" answered the first officer.

"Red and white striped shirt, yeah they did," answered the other officer looking at Jeffrey.

Jeff's body sagged as he watched the ambulance pull out of site and heard the siren. He was glad that Bogg was getting taken care of, but he had to get to him. He forced himself to be calm and think. Suddenly he found himself pushed toward the rear door of the police cruiser. The officer opened it and shoved him inside.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Sorry I had to be so rough," the first officer said to him as he climbed into the front seat, "but the last runaway I caught broke free and I had to chase him a mile down Main Street before I caught him again. I didn't want to lose you." He turned and smiled at Jeffrey. "I know you probably don't like the County Home, but, trust me, it's better than the streets."

Jeff looked at him, trying to figure out how best to respond.

"Look, that's my father in that ambulance, I need to get to him," he cried, sure that no one would want to separate a father and son.

The officer chuckled, "nice try kid, but you already told me he was your friend. More than likely you just met him, he looked like he'd been living rough. You should be thanking me for getting you away from him before he hurt you. Do you know what can happen to kids alone in this area? The only place you're going is to the station." And with that, the officer started the police car and began to drive.

"Hurt me? But he just saved my life!" Jeff shouted, but there was no answer. It seemed the officer's attention was focused on driving. Jeff leaned back in the seat in shock. How could this have happened? He should've told him Bogg was his father right from the start. Tears began to form but he blinked hard to hold them back. What he needed to do was think, he had to figure out a way to get back to Bogg. What if they took him somewhere far away? What if the bullet had hit Bogg before or after it hit the alligator? What if he still couldn't breathe? What if he wanted to see Jeff and Jeff wasn't there?

He shook his head to stop those thoughts. He had a problem and would focus on solving it, not fall apart like a baby. He didn't think he was going to talk his way out of this one, they wouldn't believe Bogg was his father. He had to think of another way out of this mess, though he reasoned, it couldn't hurt for him to keep insisting that Bogg was his father.

He decided he would have to sneak out of the police station somehow, and find Bogg at the hospital.

"How many hospitals are there around here?" he asked suddenly.

"Huh, what does it matter to you?"

"How many?"

"We have two in this city, why?"

"Which one did they bring my Dad to?" Jeff asked.

"How am I supposed to know?" the officer responded.

Jeff sighed, when he got free, he'd have to go to both of them. As he thought about this, terrible thoughts invaded his mind. He hadn't seen Bogg sit up. He could still hear the sound of his breathing, it was loud, way too loud. No, he visibly shook his head, he wasn't going to think bad thoughts, they would only get in the way of his mission. That's what this was, and he had to complete it no matter what. It was true that Bogg was probably hurt, but he would be alive, and it was up to Jeff to be there for him. He just didn't know how at the moment.

As he continued to think about his plight, he came to a decision. It would probably be harder to escape from inside the station, he had to get away, he had to open the car door. He stared at the door in confusion, until he realized why there was no inner door handle. He'd never been in a police car before. So his plan had to change, he'd have to run as soon as the door was opened by someone on the outside.

They pulled into the police garage and the car stopped. Jeff tensed up, prepared to run. The door opened and before he could move, another rough hand pulled him out from the back seat and forced him to walk into a building. It wouldn't let him go. He allowed himself to be led easily, trying to think of a way to show them that he wouldn't run away so they would give him some more freedom. Suddenly he had an idea.

"I want to go back to the Home!" he cried. He made himself think of Bogg as he crawled up and out of the bloody water, hoping that his voice would shake and be more convincing. "Please, take me back to the Home!" and this time he truly sobbed because he saw and heard again Bogg coughing up the pond water and not answering him as he lay on the bank. He realized it was easy to act upset, because he was.

The hand let go of his shirt and he was shown a bench to sit on.

"He's ready to go back after seeing that alligator attack," said the officer to someone sitting at the desk. "It was enough to shake anyone up."

Jeff glanced around as this conversation was taking place. He forced himself not to think of Bogg any more and he saw his chance. The two officers were convinced that he wanted to go back to The County Home so they started talking about what they would do on Saturday night. There was a door to the outside, just to his right. Jeff bolted for it and ran as fast as he could even before the idea had fully formed in his head. He turned right when he got to the street and headed for the largest crowd he could, at the next cross street. He didn't know if they were chasing him and he didn't care. He wasn't running away from them anymore, now he was running toward Bogg.

He ran until he couldn't take another step and then veered off the street into some underbrush beside the road and collapsed. As he lay there breathing hard, he listened for anyone in pursuit, but everything seemed quiet. He smiled to himself. He'd managed to handle that problem pretty well, then his face fell as he thought about Bogg. He was in some hospital, maybe asking to see Jeff, and Jeff wasn't there. He would be worried. Jeff hoped he'd be well enough to be worried. He sat up and looked around with renewed determination. He had to find out the names of the two hospitals and where they were. Well, one thing Jeff could do pretty well was talk. So he stood up and walked back out to the sidewalk.

It didn't take him long to find out what he wanted to know. He asked several people some questions and got the information. Unfortunately, both hospitals were in the center of the city and he was close to the city limits. He squared his shoulders and started walking.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

With the siren blaring loudly and the lights flashing in his eyes, Phineas found it hard to sort out his surroundings. It was hard to breathe and he felt dizzy from lack of oxygen. If he could just get a deep breath he thought he'd be okay. His arm hurt terribly and he could tell that someone was tending to it. He felt himself being lifted onto a table in a brightly lit room. As his head was raised up he felt an oxygen mask being placed over his face and got his first glimpse of the ER treatment room.

"Jeff," he knew he had barely mouthed the word. His voice was too weak to carry over the noise that surrounded him. He tried again, "Jeff," but he had to stop to take a breath. He didn't see Jeff, but on some instinctive level he thought it might be better that Jeff didn't see him like this.

"We need a chest x-ray," he heard one of the voices say.

He closed his eyes and felt a hard surface pushed behind his back, then removed a moment later.

"Jeff," he said again, but again it was so soft that no one could hear. No one seemed to be listening anyway, they were all rushing around him. The room was full of people, two were sticking him with needles, another was wrapping a stiff piece of cloth around his arm, a blood pressure cuff, he suddenly realized.

He was sure he'd heard Jeffrey's voice after he climbed out of the pond, so he was pretty sure he was unharmed, but he wanted to see him just the same, to be certain.

"Jeff," he said a bit louder and then paused again to breathe.

A nurse leaned close to him and spoke, "say it again?"

"My son," Phineas spoke as loud as he could, "take care of him."

"What's his name?"

"Jeffrey," he again spoke as loud as he could, though it was barely above a whisper.

She straightened up and turned to the door of the room where several people stood. "He has a son named Jeffrey, find him and make sure he's okay, but don't let him in here."

"Nobody came in with him," one of the workers said.

"I'll check the waiting room," said another.

The first nurse turned back to Phineas, "what other family do you have? Who can we contact?"

Bogg shook his head, "only Jeff," he whispered, pausing again for breath. He was exhausted and every muscle in his body ached. "You have to find him."

"We're working on it Mr. Bogg," then she was gone.

Amy Wellington left the treatment room and walked toward the waiting room. She met he co-worker on his way back.

"Was Jeffrey there?" she asked hopefully.

"No, and I'm sure no one else came in with him."

"The police must have been there, I'll call the precinct," Amy said and went back to the desk and picked up the phone.

Several minutes later she stood outside the treatment room, steeling herself to enter. She wouldn't bring it up unless he asked, and his breathing was so difficult that she doubted he would.

When she entered, Phineas' eyes locked on hers. "What about Jeff?" he asked, his voice was still weak, but the room was fairly quiet, now that the initial tasks were completed. Each breath was loud enough to be heard from the door and she knew that bad news would only make his condition worse and he already looked and sounded terrible. She absorbed the whole situation as she approached him. The temporary dressing on his arm was bloody and still needed to be changed and the wound sewn up. Two IV bags hung on a pole beside him dripping life-saving antibiotics into his bloodstream and the oxygen tubing snaked down his chest and around to the wall.

Amy had cared for parents and children before. Despite his condition, she knew that the most important thing for him would be finding out about his son. She knew she couldn't keep it from him, so she decided to put as positive a spin on it that she could.

"Does Jeffrey have black, curly hair?"

"Where is he?" Bogg asked as he nodded.

"And a red and white striped shirt?" Amy continued.

"Is he okay?" there was anguish in Phineas' voice so she hurried with the information.

"He's fine," she paused, "really, and he's quite a kid."

"Where is he, I want to see him now," Bogg said, he was starting to breathe a bit easier.

"The police thought he was a runaway and brought him to the station. I guess he didn't tell them he was your son, just a friend." she stopped to let her patient digest this.

"So tell them to bring him here," Bogg ordered.

"He tricked them and managed to escape from the police station. They're looking for him now."

"Are you saying no one knows where he is?" Bogg yelled and started a violent coughing fit. He lay still, gasping for breath when it was over, his mind in a panic. Jeff was alone, on the streets, in a strange city. He had to go look for him.

When he had recovered enough he moved to pull the blanket off and swung his legs off the side of the bed. Immediately he felt strong muscular arms push him back. Two security guards stood on either side of him.

"You are in no shape to leave here Mr. Bogg," said a firm male voice. "I'm Dr. Grant and I know about the situation with your son. We're going to work this problem out, but you aren't leaving." These words had a finality that was supported by the weakness Phineas felt in every muscle. He could barely move. He lay back on the bed.

"Listen, doc," he began gasping for breath, "you have to find him, I have to know he's safe," he paused to breath, "please."

There was silence.

"Almost all of us have children, we understand. Where do you think he'd go?" the doctor asked.

"He'd try to find me, he'd come here," Phineas answered.

"I'm going to alert the other hospital in town, in case he ends up there, and we'll watch the streets around here, the police will be looking too."

"He'll run from the police," Phineas said, "he thinks they think he's a runaway."

The doctor paused, "Okay, what can they say to him to convince him to trust them?"

Phineas paused, in thought, "tell him it's a green light."

"You sure? That's it?" he said writing down what Bogg said.

Phineas nodded, "yeah."

"Listen, it's only been a few hours, think good thoughts, he'll turn up," the doctor said as he left.

"Think good thoughts" Phineas heard those words and they sounded so hollow. He closed his eyes and realized he hadn't prayed in a long time. "Please God, just take care of him. Keep him safe and bring him back to me," he prayed silently, "Amen."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Jeff walked a long time. He finally stopped and sighed, he was hungry and tired. He looked around and saw that he was approaching a church. He suddenly thought of all the times his parents had brought him to church. He hadn't been back since the funeral. He stared up at the tall steeple and tears filled his eyes, "Dear God, if you can hear me, please keep him safe and help me get back to him," he prayed silently as a tear slid down his cheek. He took a shaky breath and thought, "Amen."

He wiped his eyes and looked ahead as a dark haired boy in a red and white shirt approached from the opposite direction and sat down on the steps of the church. He looked a little younger than Jeff and began rummaging in a backpack. Jeff's thoughts strayed to Sam Clemens and how he'd helped Jeff free Harriet Tubman. Maybe this kid could help him too. After all, he lived in this city. Jeff approached him.

"Hi," he said, "what'cha got in there?"

The boy looked up and answered, "just stuff."

Well, he wasn't as friendly as Sam, but right now he was all Jeff had. As Jeff tried to think of what to say, it suddenly hit him.

"They thought I was you!" he exclaimed.

"Huh?"

"Look at our shirts, and I practically told them I was alone." Jeff said.

The boy looked around nervously, "you with the police?" he asked.

"I just escaped from them, I've got big trouble. They thought I was you so they brought me to the station, but I've gotta get to the hospital."

"I was headed to the hospital too, but now I'm not so sure," the boy said.

Jeff paused, "I'm Jeffrey, what's your name?"

"Tom," the boy answered.

"You ran away from the County Home didn't you?" When the boy nodded, Jeff continued, "it must be a terrible place."

"No it's not," said the boy in a surprised tone, "it's been my home for almost 3 years."

"Then why'd you run away?" Jeff asked.

Tom looked at the ground and didn't answer.

"Was someone mean to you?" Jeff asked.

Tom shook his head, "I'm an orphan, it's complicated, you wouldn't understand."

"I'm an orphan too. My parents died almost 2 years ago. How about you?"

Tom looked at him in disbelief, maybe this was someone who could understand. "Three years ago."

Jeff sat in silence for several moments, then asked, "so what made you run away now?"

"Dan wants to adopt me," the boy said simply.

"Is he a bad guy? Don't you like him?" Jeff asked, maybe they were supposed to protect this kid from this Dan person.

"Oh no, he's great. We do everything together. He takes me home almost every weekend and sometimes over school vacations, too."

"And he wants to adopt you?"

Tom nodded.

"Why is that bad?" Jeff asked in confusion.

"I have parents!" Tom shouted, "it wouldn't be fair to them." He wiped a tear from his eye as he spoke.

"Do you think they would want you to live in the County Home the rest of your childhood? Or on the streets? I can tell you right now that if they loved you, they wouldn't want that. You have someone who you like, who cares about you, is a good person and wants to adopt you. This is a no brainer Tom! Your parents would want this for you!"

"You don't understand!" Tom shouted and stood up crying, "so just get out of here!"

"I understand exactly," Jeff yelled back, "because I'm doing the same thing!"

They stood staring at each other, anger and tears on their faces. They stood together as though they were the only people on earth, in the middle of the sidewalk in front of the church. There was a long silence.

"What do you mean, you're doing the same thing?" Tom finally asked.

Jeff looked at him and started telling him about his life, altering the details to hide the time travel. Tom was a good listener, and they both sat back down as the story unfolded.

"You have no business giving me advice, when you're making the same mistakes I am," Tom scolded him. "Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore, I decided not to go to the hospital."

"But isn't that where Dan is?" Jeff asked.

"He won't feel the same, not after what I did," Tom said miserably.

Jeff paused, "just so I'm clear, tell me just exactly what you think you did?" Jeff asked.

"I ran away as soon as they told me Dan had filed the adoption papers," Tom explained.

"And?" Jeff asked.

"That's it."

"You think he wouldn't want you because of that?" Jeff asked incredulously. Tom was silent, so Jeff continued, "listen, I don't know Dan, but if he's anything like Bogg, he'd be worried sick about you right now. And it wouldn't change his feelings at all." Jeff felt a pang of guilt as he finished, he had to find Bogg, this was taking up valuable time. "Listen, you know this area, which hospital would they take Bogg to?"

"Is he poor?" Tom asked, Jeff nodded, "then it would be St. Mary's, that's where Dan works."

"Can you take me there?" Jeff asked desperately.

Tom nodded, "I'll help you, you hungry?"

"Starved," Jeff answered, "but I can't stop to eat."

Tom opened his pack and took out two candy bars, "we can eat while we walk," he said and pointed to the left, down a side street, "that's a short cut."

The hospital was only 2 blocks away, and as they approached it they saw two police cars, one moving slowly down the street and one parked. Jeff sighed sadly, how was he supposed to get inside? "Do you have any other clothes in there?" he asked, pointing to the backpack.

Ten minutes later, Jeff was dressed in a blue shirt that was a bit tight on him. He turned to Tom, "look, if you get caught here, you can say you were coming to see Dan, right?"

"You really think he'd want to see me?" Tom asked.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life. Now since we're both here, you can you do me a big favor."

They talked briefly and the plan was set. Tom would wear Jeff's shirt and run past the officers, drawing them away, then Jeff would be free to enter the emergency room.

"Thanks a lot," Jeff said as Tom walked away.

Tom turned and walked backward as he answered "good luck, I hope you find him." Then he was gone and Jeff watched as the officers called to him and gave chase.

Jeff forced himself to walk casually across the street and entered the hospital so as not to draw attention to himself. Once inside, he stopped to let his eyes adjust to the change in light. As soon as he could see, he started to run forward.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Phineas was feeling better by the minute, thanks to the oxygen and IV antibiotics he'd been given over the past 6 hours. He'd waited long enough, he had to start looking for Jeff. He'd been told there were police cruisers in front of the hospital and though he'd told them to move, they hadn't. He knew Jeffrey well enough to know that he could be outside right now, trying to figure out how to get in. If he saw Bogg, he'd know it was okay.

So, he climbed out of bed, pulled the IVs out and the oxygen off, and got dressed. He worked as quickly as he could and only had to stop once to put the oxygen back on to catch his breath. Then he slipped out of the cubicle and walked quietly to the doors of the ER.

As he got close, he saw a boy rush inside and pause briefly, then run to him like a magnet drawn to a piece of steel. Jeffrey jumped into his arms and held on tight, and Phineas too, wrapped his arms tightly around the boy, neither of them saying a word. Finally Phineas heard Jeffrey sob once and whispered to him, "you're okay."

They stood together, holding onto each other as though there was no one else on earth, until finally Phineas realized he was starting to feel dizzy and out of breath.

"There's a chair behind you, sit," said a new voice and he sat down as he felt a strong hand push down on his shoulder.

Jeff loosened his grip when he felt the wheelchair and looked at Bogg, he didn't look well.

"Listen Jeff," said one of the medical workers, "your Dad needs to be inside right now, on oxygen, okay? You can talk later."

Jeff nodded and turned to Bogg, "let's go inside Dad, you need to be inside," he said, and moved to the side of the wheelchair so he could walk beside it as they wheeled Bogg back into the hospital.

Phineas smiled and nodded. Once inside, they put the oxygen back on and Dr. Grant came in to examine him.

"I don't want you to talk, just listen," he said sternly, pointing his finger at Bogg's chest. "If you want to live to finish raising this son of yours, you'll stop talking and lay here quietly. Do you understand what I'm telling you? Just nod, don't talk."

Phineas nodded as Jeff's expression changed to one of worry.

Then the doctor turned to Jeffrey, "and your job is to stay here and make sure he takes it easy, he'll be okay if he takes it easy, do you understand," and he pointed at Jeff as he spoke.

Phineas mouthed the words, "one thing " and put up one finger.

"Alright, just one thing," Dr. Grant said in exasperation.

Phineas his head toward Jeffrey, "tell me everything that happened to you today."

Jeff smiled and started talking while Phineas relaxed and listened. The doctor smiled and shook his head as he restarted the IV, then left them with Jeff still talking.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Phineas woke up with a start. Something heavy was pushing down on his arm, he looked down and realized it was Jeffrey. He had fallen asleep leaning on the bed, his head on his crossed arms. Under the mass of curly hair he could feel that Jeff was holding his hand. He slid it out gently and rested it on Jeff's shoulder, smiling. "Dear God," he whispered to himself, "thank you for bringing Jeff back to me safe and sound," he paused, but there wasn't anything more he could think of to say, "Amen."

"Good morning," whispered a nurse as she walked in and noticed Jeffrey. "I just need to take your temperature and blood pressure" and she went about her business quietly from the side opposite Jeff. "How are you feeling today?" she whispered when she finished.

Phineas nodded and whispered back, "a lot better, thanks."

"Dr. Grant will be in later," and with that she left the room.

Jeff took a deep breath and shifted position. A few seconds later he lifted his head and smiled at Bogg, then leaned in to give him a hug. "How do you feel?" he asked.

"A lot better," Phineas answered as two breakfast trays were brought into the room.

"This is great," Jeff declared and devoured his breakfast. He looked at Bogg's tray and noticed he'd only eaten about half the food. "What's wrong, you have to eat," he told him.

"I'm working on it, don't worry," Bogg answered and Jeff did notice he was eating, just more slowly.

After he finished, Jeff spoke, "Bogg?"

"What?"

"This was all my fault," Jeff said in a shaking voice.

"Hold on now," Phineas answered, "I don't know what's going through that brain of yours, but none of this is your fault, why would you think that?"

"At the pond, I told the police you were my friend, that's why they wouldn't let me come with you in the ambulance, they thought I was a runaway," Jeff confessed in a shaking voice.

Phineas reached out and pulled him into another hug, "I know."

"You do?"

"I made them tell me everything the police said," Bogg explained. "And you just told the truth, I am your friend. You didn't know what would happen," he said soothingly.

Jeff looked at him and spoke in a serious tone, "you're a lot more than a friend, but I just couldn't let go of my first parents."

"It's okay," Phineas said softly.

"I didn't tell you the whole story last night," Jeff said. "You wanna hear about Tom?" When Bogg nodded, Jeff began explaining how he had met Tom and how similar their situations had been. Ending with what Jeff had said to Tom about Dan.

"Boy, you sure had some day yesterday, didn't you?" Phineas said.

"I hope Tom found Dan and straightened it out, I think he was going to," Jeff finished.

"I bet he did, you're pretty persuasive when you wanna be," Bogg said smiling.

The morning was quiet and Jeff found a paper to read while Phineas rested. There was an article about the alligator attack and a picture of the reptile strung up with the gunman standing beside it. In a related article, there was a picture of the little girl Bogg had saved. He folded it up to show Bogg later, but didn't want to dwell on it at the moment, so he started doing the crossword puzzle.

Later that morning, they both looked up when someone knocked on the open door. Dr. Grant entered the room and walked immediately toward Jeffrey. "So you're Jeff," he said extending his hand.

Jeff stood up and shook it.

"I owe you a great deal," Dr. Grant said and handed him a paper bag.

"You do?" Jeff asked, surprised. He opened the bag and smiled, "hey, how'd you get this?" and pulled out his favorite red and white striped shirt.

"I gave it to him," came a small voice from the doorway as Tom walked in.

Jeff's jaw dropped and his sharp eyes scanned Dr. Grant's hospital name badge, Daniel Grant, MD. "This is Dan?" he asked Tom in disbelief.

Tom smiled and took hold of Dr Grant's hand, "yeah, and you were right, he WAS worried."

"I was worried sick," Dr. Grant said sternly and Tom will never do that to me again, will you?" he addressed Tom.

"No," Tom said in a serious tone, but a smile played on his lips after he finished.

"Now, both of you wait outside while I examine my patient," Dr. Grant instructed them and his tone was not to be ignored. Both boys quickly left the room.

"I wish he'd obey me like that," Phineas said after they were gone.

"I'd say you're doing fine with him," he paused, "did he tell you what he said to Tom yesterday?" When Phineas nodded, he continued, "he's quite a boy."

"You can say that again."

"I guess you and I have a bit more in common than I first thought," Dan continued.

"It's kind of unusual to want to adopt a boy as old as Tom, people usually adopt babies," Phineas said. "How did you get to know Tom well enough to want to adopt him?"

Dan smiled, "well, it's kind of a long story, but, we were sort of thrown together unexpectedly, during an emergency, and before I knew it, he was part of my life. I was pretty scared yesterday myself, knowing Tom was out on the streets. When I said I understood how you felt, I wasn't kidding."

Phineas smiled, "that's exactly the way Jeff and I met," he explained.

Dan cleared his throat, "now as for you, you've got a slight fever, so I'm starting a second IV antibiotic, but otherwise things look good. We're going to try turning down the oxygen and see how you do. The goal is to get rid of it altogether, maybe by tomorrow."

"Sounds good."

"It seems you're quite the hero," the doctor said.

"Nah, I was just protecting my kid, that's all."

"The newspapers want to interview you, how would you feel about that?"

"Definitely not, keep them out of here," was Bogg's immediate response, if his name got in the news it could easily alter the time stream.

"Okay, just checking, we may have to change the name on your records."

"Good, anything."

"You're really something, you know that?" Dan said.

Bogg shrugged.

"That alligator was 12 feet long," here he paused and shook his head. "Well, I won't see you again until tomorrow, Tom and I have a court date today to get this adoption moving."

"Good luck," Bogg told him as they shook hands. Soon Jeff was back with him.

"It looks like they'll be okay," Jeff said smiling.

"You did it kid, why don't we check the omni, just to be sure." As Jeff got it out of the clothing bag in the closet, Bogg continued, "there's no telling how many red lights we fixed here, I haven't looked at it since we arrived." Jeff held it toward Bogg to show him the green light.

"I had a feeling," Bogg said.

"Can I ask you a serious question?"

"What is it?" Phineas answered.

"Do you believe in God, Bogg?"

Phineas paused, "well, I don't see how I can not believe, with everything I've experienced."

"What do you mean?" Jeff asked.

Phineas cleared his throat. "Before I met you, I thought my life was pretty good. I enjoyed my job, and I didn't really need anybody. I had no idea that my life was so empty until I fell into your room."

"You weren't too happy about that at the time, the way I remember it," Jeff said.

"That's my point," Bogg answered him.

"What point?"

"I didn't know that I needed you in my life, but something put me into your room. Of all the Voyagers zooming around the cosmos, it was me, the one whose omni only went up to 1970. And when I landed in your room, I didn't have a clue I needed to be there."

They were silent for awhile, then Phineas continued.

"And it's not just that I fell into your room, but when I did," Bogg paused, "I fell into your room when I needed someone, and not just anyone, I needed you. I didn't know it, but I did. And I don't believe that just any kid would make me feel like I have a family. You're the only one, in all of time. Isn't that kind of amazing?"

"Well, okay, maybe I can see your point," Jeff said.

"And that's not all," Bogg continued, "I fell into your room when you needed someone too, and not just anyone. You needed me. Whatever it is that's between us is special and just any Voyager wouldn't have been the same. Well, that's what I'd like to think anyway. You're the only one that can say whether that's true or not."

Again there was silence.

"It's true," Jeff whispered.

"So don't you think that's pretty miraculous? We each get what we really need, when we needed it, and didn't even know we needed it at the time?" He paused and took a breath, "we're born centuries apart, and yet not only do we end up together, but when we both need each other and each of us is the only one who can fulfil that need? That's a miracle in my book, and you can't tell me that some gentle hand didn't nudge us along, like a shepherd moving a couple of disobedient sheep."

Bogg paused, "my biggest regret is how I treated you on the beach at Kitty Hawk. I should be whipped for that."

Jeff blinked, "no you shouldn't, I needed that. Don't you realize that I never told anyone what happened during the accident? Nobody ever asked me. Nobody." Tears started to trickle down Jeff's face, "and I never offered. I don't think I would have ever talked about it if you hadn't said what you did." He moved to the edge of the bed and leaned down against Phineas' chest.

"You know, it's funny you should ask this now, because I prayed yesterday, for the first time in a very long time," he whispered as Jeff calmed down.

"Me too," was Jeff's surprising answer. "What did you pray for?"

"For you to be safe, and come back to me," Phineas answered. "And you know what else I was thinking?"

"What Dad?"

Phineas stopped and looked at him, "I like the sound of that," and they both smiled. After a moment, Phineas continued, "two dark haired orphans, wearing red and white striped shirts, alone in the city at exactly the same time, somehow finding and helping each other... don't you think that's pretty amazing? A lot of serendipity there, maybe even a miracle, and you know, where there are miracles, something is guiding them."

"If miracles can happen, then why did my parents have to die?" Jeff whispered.

"I don't know any more answers than you do kid. I know you're pretty smart, but there are just some things that can't be known. All we can do is help each other the best we can and have faith."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The next day, Phineas was moved out of the emergency room to a regular unit of the hospital. Amy stopped in to visit every day after her shift and loaned them a chess set when she found out Jeff liked to play. He and Bogg played every day to pass the time. On the 5th day, Phineas won his first game of chess.

"I don't know why you're so surprised," he told Jeff, "I told you I played a game like this in Malaysia. I just had to get some experience with it so I could figure out some strategy."

Jeff smiled, "just because you won one game, doesn't mean you'll always win you know."

"Oh, I'm sure I won't always win." Phineas answered. "But I might surprise you."

Jeff put the pieces back into the box thinking. It was strange that the longer he knew Bogg, the smarter he seemed to get. He shrugged, leaving that puzzle for another day.

Two days later, they left the hospital together and when no one was looking, disappeared.

The landing at the cemetery was a soft one. A gentle breeze touched them as Phineas sat down on a bench in the shade and Jeffrey walked forward, between the stones until he found the one he wanted about 50 feet away. Phineas stayed far enough away so he wouldn't hear what Jeff said, if anything. He wanted him to have some privacy.

Jeffrey approached the stone and stood staring at it. He couldn't think of anything to say as he read over the names so he just stood silently. After several minutes he did speak, "I guess you already know everything that's happened to me," he sighed, "and I'm gonna be okay, but I'll always miss you." He wiped his eyes, "you'd like Bogg...a lot."

The End


End file.
